Anne Black Gray grew up in semi-rural West Virginia, stu- 

   died physics at Carnegie Mellon and then migrated to

   Southern California for a career in aerospace engineering.

   After retiring from aerospace, Anne began a second career in

   novel writing at the same time that she was learning of the

   plights of victims of rare, hard-to-diagnose diseases. The

   needs of these patients became the inspiration for Laughing

   Sickness. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and

   two cats.

   Through the life-changing voyage of the heroine of her novel,

   she demonstrates what courage, determination to remain

   independent and, of course, laughter can do for someone

   facing disabling, hard-to-diagnose illness. She demonstrates

   the difficulties in navigating the medical system, how the

   workplace may or may not support laws protecting a disabled

   person's job, and the strife disabling illness can cause in

   relationships. Parents may begin treating an adult child as if

   he or she were young and under their supervision again.

   Friends and lovers with controlling personalities may try to

   take over the patient's life. Co-workers may doubt their ability

   to perform or even shun them. She brings discrimination

   against the disabled into the spotlight and gives voice to how

   the disabled want and deserve to be treated.

   Author can be emailed at anneblackgray@aol.com